How a Running Group Reignited My Passion For Running
Passions do not wane overnight, but they can be reignited in an instant
A few years ago, I was obsessed with running. I was training to run ultra marathons and attempted a 100-miler, and my passion for running couldn’t have been stronger.
After the attempted 100-mile ultra, my passion for running started to wane. I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be, and running felt like a chore. My Garmin watch stats showed I was running 2–3 times per week, which was less than desired.
This decline in passion didn’t happen overnight — it happened over about a year. I was running enough just to stay in shape, but not enough to progress.
Stagnation can be the killer of passion.
As spring rolled around, I committed to join a running group this year and go consistently.
On a brisk Chicago evening in March, I went to a local running group that met up at a bar after their runs. It was a small group with about 6–8 runners. For some reason, I didn’t feel like things clicked with the group and felt discouraged. The people in the group were nice, but sometimes you know when you meet people if you would enjoy being friends with them. Similar to a mediocre date, I decided I wasn’t going back to that…
